Family Ties
by Morte Lise
Summary: One too many days of missed school force Kagome to transfer to Sarayashiki, and a family vacation lands her and an unwilling Inuyasha in the same house as her infamous cousin, Yusuke. How long will the warring cousins be able to stand one another?
1. The Cousin From Hell

Hello, hello. Yes, this is a crossover between Inuyasha and Yu Yu Hakusho, and yes, that's been done before many a time. I won't bother reassuring you that this is different from the others, because while I may think it is, it's really up to you guys. Actually, I wrote this a while back and sort of left it to ferment in my metaphorical basement, but hey, everyone comes back to something sometime. I hope you enjoy it!

Random Bit of Useless Information: Breaks will indicate either time jumps or perspective changes. Hurrah!

Disclaimer: Dude, I can't even afford my own _car_. What makes you think I'd own either of these two amazing series?

* * *

_Chapter One: The Cousin From Hell_

"See ya later, guys!" Kagome waved cheerily, hopping into the well. Five hundred years and several moments later, she popped her head back out and breathed in the industrial air of modern-day Japan. "Ah, no place like home. Isn't that right…Inuyasha?"

The sneaky hanyou halted in mid-step. "Yeah, sure, whatever," he mumbled guiltily.

"Which raises the question," Kagome continued, glaring at him pointedly. "WHY are you here?"

Inuyasha looked awkwardly at her. "Just…seeing you off?"

"Uh huh. Sure."

Kagome began to walk away, obviously in a bad mood, despite her earlier façade with Sango and Miroku. Inuyasha followed her. The teen whipped around and yelled directly in his face.

"Go HOME, Inuyasha!" Inuyasha twitched and fell over.

Kagome blinked. "Uh…?"

"My _ears_…" he moaned. "My oh so sensitive _ears_…"

Her eye ticked slightly. "Pansy."

He shot her a glare and uncovered his ears. "I can still hear that. How does that term go? Oh yes. What's YOUR damage?"

She stared up at the sky in frustration. "Family issues."

The hanyou sat up. "Oh? Do tell."

Kagome heaved a sigh. "My family went off to Okinawa for a trip, but since I was away in your era, I couldn't come. Apparently, they don't think I'm old enough to handle myself, despite the fact that I'm CONSTANTLY FIGHTING FOR MY LIFE IN THE WARRING STATES ERA, and have insisted that I spend some time at my cousin's house. Well, there's also the fact that I was failing so badly at this school that they transferred me to his, but whatever. The main point is that I cannot STAND my cousin, I haven't even talked to him in years, and frankly, we just plain hate each other."

"What," asked Inuyasha, trying to appear disinterested, "is he a jackass or something?"

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Take Miroku's personality and add in your temper plus a really warped sense of humor, and that's him in a nutshell. Urameshi Yusuke, how CAN I be related to you!" she yelled up to the sky.

"That bad, huh?" Inuyasha yawned. He was beginning to look edgy. "Well, if that's your lame problem, I'll be going now-" He stopped in mid-yawn at the rather evil, sly smile that Kagome was giving him. "What?"

"Oh, you're not going ANYWHERE, Inuyasha," Kagome answered sweetly. "On the contrary, you're staying with me the entire, and yes, I do mean the ENTIRE time that I must suffer at my cousin's. Besides," she added, twirling a small charm casually around her finger, "what better time to try out the new technique that Kaede taught me?"

The hanyou went dead white. "You don't mean…?"

Kagome smirked. "Oh, but I do."

"Oh. HELL. No."

Kagome's smile grew even wider. "Well, my dear Inuyasha, you need SOME sort of punishment for following me, don't you?"

"_YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!_" Inuyasha screamed, running away at top youkai speed.

Kagome just rolled her eyes. "Resistance is futile, Inu, haven't you learned that yet?" she muttered under her breath. "OSUWARI!"

(_THUD_)

Kagome clipped the charm on to the semi-conscious hanyou's rosary beads and closed her eyes. "Power of purity, power of light, I, Higurashi Kagome, call on thee to do my bidding. Bind the darkness in this boy's soul. Dispel the demonic power and release the mortality hidden within. Ningen…bind!"

A black haired, brown-eyed Inuyasha glared balefully up at Kagome from his seat on the ground. "I. Hate. You."

Kagome stuck her tongue out and winked. "Cheers, Inu."

And Inuyasha…twitched.

* * *

"Well, isn't this just lovely?" yelled Yusuke, chucking yet another pillow into the wall.

"It's not that bad, Yusuke," comforted Kurama, picking feathers amiably out of his long red hair.

"Yes, it IS!"

"I agree with Yusuke," said Hiei absently from the windowsill. "It's that bad."

Yusuke threw up his hands. "Finally! A supporter!"

"Yeah, well, Hiei isn't entirely sane," Kuwabara pointed out, glaring at the black-clad demon.

"It's true," shot back Hiei with a slight smirk. "Similar to the way that you aren't entirely intelligent."

It took both Kurama and a heavily sweatdropping Yukina to restrain the carrot-top from lunging across the room and strangling Hiei. Yusuke's eye was still twitching spasmodically.

"This…cannot…be happening…"

Of course, the object of his torment happened to come bursting into Yusuke's bedroom at that very moment, dressed in a dark green parka with cargo pants and shouting merrily, "Well, I'm all ready and unpacked for the next few weeks, people!"

"NOOOOO!" screamed Yusuke, falling to his knees and sobbing uncontrollably.

Botan folded her arms and leaned against the doorway. "C'mon, Yusuke, it's not like I'm Death itself or something--wait…" She stared at the ceiling thoughtfully for a moment.

"Your observation of the obvious is incredible, ferry girl."

"Why thank you Hiei," Botan said in a sickeningly sweet voice, before turning back to Yusuke. "I mean, so I might have sang the 'Everybody's Nerves' song and used my oar to whack you needlessly on the head once…twice…several times…a lot…" She blinked. "Okay, so you DO have a legitimate reason to hate me."

"Well thank you Princess Prettypants," snapped Yusuke. This caused everyone in the room to screech to a halt and stare at him. He shrugged. "What? 'Captain Obvious' was getting old."

Everyone who understood what had just taken place was apparently satisfied with that answer. A very awkward silence nevertheless followed, which Botan promptly broke by wandering across the room, summoning her oar, and smacking Hiei over the head with it. This emitted cries of surprised and angry pain from the fire demon.

"WHY YOU--" He stared up at her smiling face and abruptly fell silent.

Kuwabara, still desperate for a comeback to the intelligence comment, caught on to this immediately. "Looks like Shorty's got a thing for Botan!"

He then spent the next few minutes struggling to remain conscious, courtesy of a certain youkai's sword hilt, and a certain ferry girl's oar. Unfortunately for the aforementioned attackers, the damage had already been done. Hiei and Botan turned around to see the remaining occupants staring at them strangely. Hiei glared. Botan blanched.

"Oh, come on, you people don't really think—me and him!"

Yusuke shifted uncomfortably, this new revelation making him forget about his other issues. "Well, Hiei HAS been acting awfully nice to you lately…"

"And you two have been hanging out a lot recently…" Yukina mumbled.

"Alone…" added Kurama, a vaguely evil glint in his eyes.

The sound of Hiei's katana sliding out of its sheath could be heard quite clearly in the suddenly silent room. Botan still looked like she was in a state somewhere between incredulity and terror. Kuwabara…was still semi-conscious.

"But—but--" stammered Botan. "How could you ever think—in a million years--" She threw up her hands in exasperation. "Oh come on people, what's wrong with you! I can't decide whether to laugh or cry about this!"

Hiei put his two cents in via his katana—Yusuke's lamp suddenly lost a few inches on the bottom. Everyone else mulled over the matter for a moment, then blew collective sighs of relief.

"So you're really not?" Yusuke chanced to ask.

"NO!"

"Ah. Good. That would have been way too bizarre."

Hiei and Botan both proceeded to glare at him…it actually proved very intimidating.

"Well," Hiei said coldly. "Now that THAT'S been sorted out…" He walked over to Kuwabara, his katana still in his hand. "I was going to refrain from doing this for a few years, but frankly for that little suggestion you really deserve it."

It suddenly hit everyone as to what he had in mind as he swung the sword in a high arc, heading in the direction of his fellow Tantei's neck. "NO, HIEI!" screamed four hysterical voices at once.

Hiei stopped and sullenly sheathed his blade, giving them all a look that clearly said, 'yeah, like YOU never thought about doing it.'

After everyone finished hyperventilating, Yukina bowed apologetically. "Gomen, but I have to go. It's just…a friend of mine may have gotten a lead on my brother. I'll see you later. Ja ne!" She gave everyone a huge smile and left the room.

Yusuke just shook his head. "Huh. Family issues. Seeeeerious family issues." Hiei was about to shoot him the death glare when Yusuke's eyes popped out of his head. "HOLY FRIGGIN' CRAP! KAGOME'S COMING!"

He turned to everyone pleadingly. "Uh…I kinda need everyone's help cleaning the place up. See, my cousin's coming in a few hours and I need it spotless by then or else all Hell will break loose."

The occupants of the room stared at him as though he'd just given them the death sentence. This room alone was a disaster. Pillowcases all over the floor. Clothes. Trash. Broken gizmos. Feathers everywhere. Yusuke glared at them.

"Come on, you people owe me! You owe me for…for…well, I don't know, but we've gone through so much crap that you have to owe me for SOMETHING, and now you get to pay up. Let's go people! No time to lose!" And with that he suddenly grabbed a random broom and ran out of the room.

The remaining people stood silently, blinking. Then Botan threw up her hands and muttered something about having to stay there anyway, and Kuwabara just shrugged and started picking up the feathers. Kurama shook his head. Yusuke really needed to do things ahead of time. He was about to mention this to Hiei, but when he looked over, no one was there. It was then that he noticed the open window. Hiei had ditched them.

* * *

Kagome sighed wearily, carrying the packages of clothing. "Inuyasha…you might as well get over it because I'm not turning you back." The former hanyou continued to glare at her. She stopped and glared right back. "No way mister, I just went through all that trouble to get you temporarily enrolled in that school, and now I'm not changing a thing!"

She shook open her map. "Okay, so if we just passed this street here, and the school is here, and the mall is there, then Yusuke's house should be right there—oh, FOR THE LOVE OF!"

Inuyasha looked over at her curiously. Kagome smacked herself in the head. "Aaah, they moved. Now, where did I put those directions—aw, man, this day just keeps getting worse and worse!"

"Screw something else up?" Inuyasha snorted.

Kagome's eye twitched. "OSUWARI!"

"ITAI! …Bitch…"

Kagome searched frantically through her pockets and luggage, but deep down she already knew that she'd left the directions at home. "Oh, this is not good," she moaned. "Even spending time with Yusuke is better than having to wander around the streets all night!"

"You mean we're lost!" Inuyasha screeched. "We're lost on the streets of this freaky era of yours and I'm in my human form and I'm stuck in these ridiculous clothes, KAGOME ARE YOU REALLY THAT INCOMPETENT!"

A growl that would have made even Kouga jealous escaped Kagome's lips. "Inuyasha… OSUWARIOSUWARIOSUWARIOSUWARI!" Now that the boy was only vaguely conscious, Kagome got back down to business.

"If only he had a cell phone…" the raven haired girl mumbled dejectedly to herself as she dragged two bags of luggage, some school uniforms, and a semi-conscious teenager down the dark street. "What to do, what to do, I don't even know his home phone number anymore. Arg, I'm so irresponsible."

"Kagome…you're pulling my hair out," whined Inuyasha, having revived enough to speak again.

She sweatdropped and dropped him. He quickly scrambled up, and was blessedly silent for a while. He'd had enough 'sits' to last a lifetime, and it was twice as painful when he was human.

Try as she might, Kagome could not think of a solution to her problem. She couldn't take it anymore. "Arg…DO YOU JUST HATE ME UP THERE? DO YOU! WHY MUST EVERYTHING GO WRONG! IS IT TOO MUCH TO ASK THAT I CAN JUST GET TO MY STUPID COUSIN'S HOUSE! URAMESHI YUSUKE, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU!"

Inuyasha stared at her as though she were insane, then wisely decided to inch away from the furious miko. Hesitant footsteps made both of them pause.

"Ano…are you looking for Yusuke's house?"

Kagome blinked and stared at the mild-mannered, brunette teen. It took her a few minutes to recognize her. "Keiko-chan!"

The girl's eyes widened. Inuyasha looked confused.

"Kagome-chan!" Keiko hugged the other girl tightly. "Oh, it's been so long! I haven't seen you in years!"

"Ah, I know, but there's only so long I can stand that jerk of a cousin of mine!"

Keiko released Kagome and turned to Inuyasha. "And you are…"

"Inuyasha," Kagome cut in quickly. "He's my…uh…friend, and he so _kindly_ volunteered to keep me company as I suffer my time here."

Keiko looked the boy over and Kagome held her breath, praying that the hanyou wouldn't do anything bizarre in front of her old friend. He LOOKED normal enough. She'd gotten him into a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt. He refused to wear sneakers, so they compromised and he was now in sandals. He had the appearance, more or less, of your average teenager. Actions, however, were another story.

Keiko pointed at him questioningly. "Your boyfriend?"

Both of them blanched. "NO!" they shouted together.

"No, no, nooooo, Keiko-chan," Kagome said hastily. "It's just that I'd rather not spend any time alone with Yusuke. Cousin or not, he's still a pervert."

"And none know that better than I," sighed Keiko. "But in any case, do you need help getting to his house?"

"YES!" Kagome and Inuyasha yelled, once again in unison.

Keiko sweatdropped slightly. "I'd be all too happy…"

* * *

"Wow, life must be awfully boring here if that's all you can say," Kagome commented as the trio walked down the street.

"Um, yeah, boring," Keiko agreed nervously. "C'mon, Keiko, don't let them see you sweat," she whispered to herself.

In catching up with Kagome her descriptions had been incredibly vague. After all, it was kind of difficult to give her a detailed summary of her missing years without mentioning death, demons, and the inevitable chaos. And Kagome had never been the type of girl to believe in those things, even when they were little. While Kagome was only a year older than Keiko, she'd been a skeptic from the age of five and onward. Keiko couldn't think of a thing that would have changed her views.

* * *

"Well, this place is certainly a lot fancier than their apartment," announced Kagome, secretly relieved that they had finally arrived. It had been so hard come up with a background for Inuyasha, not to mention talking about what she'd been doing for the past few years. In fact, most of her side of the story had been complaints about how she was failing in school. Keiko was very open-minded, but Kagome didn't want to have to burden her with the fantastic tale of Inuyasha and the feudal era. It was complicated enough for _her_ to accept time travel and spells and demons and the like. She didn't want to drag Keiko into the madness.

* * *

Keiko bowed. "Uh…I'd better get going. I've got a lot to do tonight. Good to see you again, Kagome-chan! Nice to meet you, Inuyasha! Ja ne!"

"Ja ne, Keiko-chan!" Kagome said happily.

Inuyasha just stared at the sky. Keiko sweatdropped slightly. Inuyasha didn't seem like much of a social person.

Careful to keep a smile on her face, Keiko bowed again and walked off. Once she was around the corner, she gave a sigh of relief. Well, at least that was over. She shook her head slightly.

"Yusuke and Kagome, together again," she murmured. "What sorts of Hell are going to break loose?" She shuddered. Whatever it was, she wasn't going to be around to see its premier.

* * *

With a strong sense of impending doom, Kagome knocked on her cousin's front door and waited. A few crashes and yells of alarm came from inside the house, and she blew a mushroom sigh. Some things never change.

"I bet Aunt Atsuko is off on another one of her binges," she mumbled to herself.

Inuyasha raised an inquiring eyebrow. Kagome pantomimed chugging a bottle of sake.

"Ah, like Miroku's old monk, huh?"

"Precisely," Kagome groaned. Then the door suddenly swung open. Kagome stared. She blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "Holy friggin' crap, Yusuke, you look like hell!"

Her cousin gave her a flat glare. "Gee, Kagome, I'm happy to see you too."

But Kagome had a valid point. Dust smudges were all over the boy's face and arms, and his T-shirt and jeans were covered in soot and paint. His hair was gel-less for once, and Kagome was sure she saw a spider web or two among the tangles. One glance at Inuyasha told her that the hanyou was clearly not impressed with her relative. Yusuke suddenly noticed Inuyasha.

"And he is…?"

"Your worst nightmare," Inuyasha hissed under his breath. Kagome nudged him lightly. Yusuke held out a hand.

"Nice to meet you." He looked at him closely. "That's funny, you don't LOOK like a Honda…"

Inuyasha stared at him as though he were Sesshoumaru (one of the worst stares Inuyasha could give) and Kagome twitched. Already her cousin's idiotic humor kicked in. Although since when was he afraid of cars…?

"This is Inuyasha," Kagome said stiffly as the former dog demon cautiously shook Yusuke's hand. "I didn't want to be trapped alone in the house with you, especially since we both know Aunt Atsuko isn't going to be home."

Yusuke let go of Inuyasha's hand and gave her a dirty look. "You could have at least told me first. If you had, you would have known that I was having a friend over anyway. Who's this guy anyway, your BOYFRIEND?"

"Hardly!" Kagome snapped. "And who are you having over, your girlfriend? Considering Keiko hasn't said anything about staying here, it'd better either be a boy or another relative, because I will NOT have you cheating on her!"

"What, you had the time to talk to Keiko, and you couldn't tell me about this?" Inuyasha was beginning to look both bored and annoyed, but Kagome no longer cared. She was in all-out Amazon mode now. "For your information, YUSUKE, she brought me over here! And all I have to say is—who the hell is that?"

* * *

Yusuke stared at his evil cousin blankly, then turned around. And there was Kuwabara, fast asleep on his couch. Yusuke hit the panic button and went from 'must-beat-evil-cousin-in-war-of-wits' mode to 'ah-crap-how-do-I-explain-all-this' mode. His three "recruits" had been helping him clean the entire day, albeit reluctantly, but Kagome had shown up so unexpectedly that he hadn't had time to ask them to leave. And as for why Kuwabara was currently sleeping on the couch for all the world to see…well, Yusuke HAD worked them to the bone. He just prayed that Botan and Kurama were still conscious and out of sight for the moment.

Yusuke laughed nervously. "Uh…yeah…him. That's Kuwabara. See, I kinda had a few friends over today, and I guess I wore them out. Um…a couple other people are around here somewhere too. I'll introduce you when I find them…heh…"

The look Kagome was giving him at the moment was one that Yusuke got all too often. It was the look that clearly stated that he was an idiot. But now that the spirit detective remembered that his fellow Tantei were still lurking around the house, he no longer feared his cousin. He feared his friends. Although none of them could really complain while they were working, now that their labor was over they could unleash their wrath upon Yusuke. And he was frightened. Especially since the house had been a lot messier than originally anticipated. Luckily, Kuwabara was now asleep, but he still had Kurama and Botan to deal with, and they were a great deal scarier.

"Please come in," he said with a false politeness, opening the door a little wider for the pair. There was a splashing noise and a scream from one of the rooms that made all three of them sweatdrop heavily, but Yusuke wasn't about to investigate the sound. No, for once it was safer with Kagome. Yusuke shook his head. He never thought he'd be saying that.

They stood in an awkward silence for a few minutes, since none of them had anything to say after the mysterious splash, and the couch was taken.

"So…these friends of yours…" Kagome said finally, fiddling around with a strap on her backpack.

"Oh, right," Yusuke agreed, happy in spite of himself for the sudden spark in conversation. "Well, there's the person who's going to be staying over, and that's Botan-oh, and here she is now," he added, seeing the blue-haired girl leaning heavily against the doorway leading to the kitchen.

He gulped. From the look on her face, Botan's personality had one-eightied. She was haggard and worn and looked ready to kill--kill Yusuke, that is.

He gave another nervous laugh. "Hey…Botan…what's up?" The ferry girl was too tired and out of breath to speak, much to Yusuke's relief. Unfortunately for him, she then held up a sign.

**SLAVE LABOR SHOULD BE MADE ILLEGAL.**

Suddenly Botan was looking very much like the stereotypical Grim Reaper rather than the bubbly Spirit Guide he'd come to know and…be very annoyed by. The look on Kagome and her companion's faces told him that they not only thought he was an idiot, but insane as well. Yusuke decided to dig his grave a little deeper.

"Heh…that's nice…uh…hey, where's K—Shuichi?" Botan paused a moment, then held up another sign. Yusuke momentarily wondered if she could summon them the same way she did her oar. Her next announcement, however, drove that thought from his mind.

**SHUICHI HAS BEEN EATEN BY YOUR WASHING MACHINE. WE MOURN FOR SHUICHI.**

"Well, that thing always WAS tricky to use," Yusuke muttered to himself, not exactly happy that he'd discovered the origin of the mysterious noise from before. Botan limped over to him, and, ignoring the two newcomers, stuck a Post-It on his arm with the following message:

**I'M ASKING REIKAI TO TAKE YOUR SOUL BACK.**

Yusuke squeaked slightly and stuffed the note into his back pocket. Somehow he seriously doubted she was joking. Botan somehow made her way to the side of the couch, where she proceeded to slump down and fall asleep. Yusuke wondered if Reikai would follow through with Botan's request immediately so he didn't have to be in this situation. No such luck.

Kagome blinked a few times. "Uh…what did she mean by 'eaten by your washing machine'?"

"I have no idea but I think we're going to find out in a few minutes," Yusuke predicted grimly. He might as well have just drenched himself in kerosene and lit himself on fire. Actually…that might have been a better idea. Kurama angry would not be fun. He'd seen Kurama angry. He'd seen the people Kurama was angry at. He did not want to become the host of some parasitical plant.

"Well, little cousin, your friends sure know how to make a first impression," Kagome started to comment, when a very distinct noise came from the laundry room.

Squelch.

The trio exchanged a vaguely worried and wondering glance as the noise continued and a few moments later, the door to the laundry room opened, and out stepped Kurama.

Only it didn't look very much like Kurama. He was soaked from head to toe, his red hair wild and plastered to his head and clothes. He was also covered in soapsuds. Actually, he quite literally looked like he'd been…well…eaten by a washing machine. But most notable of all to Yusuke was the look in the youko's eyes, which were gleaming with a golden tint for the occasion. It was ten times deadlier than anything he'd seen even from Hiei. And that was deadly indeed.

Kurama took a few more squelching steps until he was up in Yusuke's face, at which point he opened his mouth as if to say something. Instead, though, he shook his head, closed his mouth, and stalked away to lurk at the other end of the room. Yusuke was practically hyperventilating. As terrifying as his enemies had been, his friends were so much worse. It was Inuyasha who broke the silence.

"For the record, Kagome, I didn't want to be here."

* * *

Kurama glared out the window, trying to force himself not to murder Yusuke on the spot. This…had been Hell. No, this had been more than Hell. Hell would have been the labor without the last incident. But no, the PSYCHO WASHING MACHINE OF DOOM had to push it beyond the limit. Before then, Kurama would have told anyone that it was impossible to be eaten by a washing machine. But here he was, thoroughly drenched and not at all amused. And then to top it all off, it had only been the four of them taking on the impossible task. "Thank you ever so much, Hiei," he hissed dangerously under his breath. He could practically see the fire youkai watching them all, laughing his head off at their torment. Hey…wait…

He shook off the cobwebs (in more ways than one) and focused outside. Sure enough, there was Hiei, perfectly balanced on a tree branch as always and laughing so hard he was practically crying. That was the final straw for a certain kitsune. Screw tact. Kurama's eyes flashed pure gold. Only a second later the tree branch smoothly wrapped itself around Hiei and spiked him into the ground, football style. Needless to say, the koorime wasn't laughing much anymore. Kurama smiled. He was feeling a little better now.

* * *

Weirdly enough, this entire story came to be from the washing machine scene. Go figure. I know these stories typically have them confessing their respective, ah, shall we say _abnormalities_ the moment they meet (or they did the last time I read one, which was a while ago...), butfrankly I find it so much moreentertaining when they try to keep it secret from one another--only to eventually discover that they'rehiding pretty much the same secret. I shall warn you now--some of the couples I'm using are somewhat...odd. Okay,maybe the couples themselves aren't odd, but the way I use them might be. Whatever.I shouldn't take too long in posting the next chapter—it's already written, it just needs editing. Reviews would be greatly appreciated! Criticism is also accepted, but flames will be sent to Shippou, to help him power up his Fox Fire. Fare thee well! 


	2. Nice to Meet You?

Wow…this took such a long time to post, considering it was already written by the time I posted the first chapter. Go figure.

THANK YOU REVIEWING PEOPLE! You make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Annoying Little Twit: Thanks for the compliment, and yes. Yes, I feel very spechial indeed.

agapeNuria: Err, well, here it is… Hurrah…!

Amysteriouswhisper: You do! Wow, that's a compliment in itself, considering how much crap I have a tendency to send you…

Sinor: YAY! We should ALL own Psycho Washing Machines of Doom. It would make the world a better place. How did it eat Kurama? …The world may never know. Heaven knows I don't.

BratCat: THANKIE! …And it is kept-ed.

Disclaimer: …Look. It'll happen the same day as the apocalypse, okay? So just look for that.

* * *

_Chapter Two: Nice to Meet You?_

Kagome yawned and settled herself down on the couch. If nothing else, the day had been…interesting. "Well, Yusuke, I always knew you were a freak, but did you need to take it to the next level?" Kagome whispered quietly, before mentally whacking herself in the head.

She didn't mean to be cruel to Yusuke, but it wasn't easy having an alcoholic for an aunt and a juvenile delinquent for a cousin. At least that whole bizarre introduction was over.

Washing Machine Boy had refused Yusuke's assistance and soon left after their meeting, dragging the boy who was sleeping on the couch out with him. Sign Girl (if Kagome recalled correctly her name was Botan) was still asleep leaning against the couch. In fact, that was the very couch that Kagome herself was sleeping on at the moment. Kagome prayed that she wasn't going to be murdered in the middle of the night. Inuyasha was sleeping in with Yusuke, and Kagome half wanted him to strangle her cousin some time during the evening. However, she loved Yusuke enough not to fully wish that fate upon him.

"Well, this is going to be interesting," Kagome said to herself as she began to drift off. "Maybe even as interesting as the feudal era…"

* * *

"RISE AND SHINE, PEOPLE!" shouted a cheerful voice.

Kagome groaned and snuggled deeper into her pillow. "Too early," she mumbled.

"C'mon, up and at 'em," the same cheerful voice said, this time almost in her ear. "It's a school day, you know!"

Kagome shot up in alarm. "You mean I'm late!"

"Hardly," Yusuke mumbled sleepily, shuffling past her in pajamas and slippers, a cup of coffee in his hand. "It's only six." He glared at the owner of the cheerful voice. "Botan, you're insane."

"No," corrected Botan, "I'm punctual. Yusuke, you may go to this school every day, but the rest of us have preparation to worry about, you know!"

Kagome stared blankly. Was this really the same tired wrathful girl from the night before? Yusuke noticed his cousin's incredulous expression.

"What you saw last night was Botan pushed to the limit. This is her real personality. A freakishly energetic airhead."

"Yusuke…you're so mean!"

Kagome just stared a bit longer. Botan had completely changed. Her purple eyes shone as though it were the best day of her life. Amazingly enough, she was beyond ready and in her school uniform.

"Is she always this…uh…upbeat?" she whispered doubtfully to Yusuke.

"You have no idea," her cousin murmured back. Kagome took that as a yes and reluctantly dragged herself out of bed.

"Ohayo Kagome," slurred Inuyasha sleepily, wandering in from the kitchen with his own cup of coffee. Much to her surprise, he was already dressed in his school uniform. Even more surprisingly, he looked GOOD in it. Somehow she figured he'd look awkward, but in his human form it looked like he did this every morning. Or maybe she just needed more sleep.

* * *

"So, this is your first day, too, Botan-san?" Kagome asked as the trio headed in the direction of the school. Yusuke had decided to get a little more sleep, despite Botan's early wakeup call. The three of them, however, had to get everything sorted out for their first day there.

"Hai, Kagome-chan," Botan replied. She seemed to be looking for someone. "Ah, Kurama, where are you?" she hissed under her breath.

Inuyasha's head snapped up. "Who's Kurama?"

Botan went wide-eyed. "Kurama? Who's Kurama? I didn't hear anyone say Kurama!" She laughed a little too loudly.

Inuyasha looked at her strangely. "Well, if you didn't say Kurama, what name DID you say?"

"Huh? Oh! Shuichi! I said Shuichi! You met him yesterday."

"Oh yeah, the idiot that fell into the washer risheen."

"Washing machine," Kagome corrected in a furious whisper.

"Whatever."

"Ohayo, minna-san," came a quiet voice from behind her.

Botan beamed. "Hi, K-Shuichi-kun!"

Inuyasha just mumbled something unintelligible and most likely rude. Kagome shot him a glare before turning to welcome the newcomer. And then her mouth just dropped.

Kagome hadn't thought much of Shuichi last night, having been exhausted, bummed about having to stay with Yusuke, and generally irritable. Shuichi hadn't exactly been at his prime either, soaked to the bone and covered in soapsuds. But now that she really looked at him…he was GORGEOUS. Long, silky red hair that would have been the envy of any magazine model, large emerald eyes full of compassion, soft smile, slim tall form--he was the ideal man. Kagome couldn't believe it. Was this guy for real?

"Uh, h-hi," she said awkwardly, still openly gaping at him. "I'm, uh, I'm…" For some reason, her name seemed to escape her at the moment.

"Yusuke's cousin Kagome, am I correct?" Shuichi supplied politely.

"Yeah, that's the one!" she agreed, although if he'd said she was the Grim Reaper she probably still would have said yes. Botan looked back and forth between the two and giggled. Inuyasha was practically green with envy, although Kagome was too absorbed in staring at Shuichi to notice.

"I'm new to this school as well," Kagome's new dream boy was saying. He turned to Botan. "I think it would be better if you didn't lead…"

"Don't be ridiculous, I know exactly where I'm going!" Botan protested.

Shuichi gave her a warning glance. "I seem to recall the Dark Tournament…"

Inuyasha looked suspicious, Kagome drooled, and Botan drooped in defeat. "Oh, yeah, that…okay, so I'm directionally challenged! Lead the way, K-Shuichi!"

* * *

"You're all in the same grade, am I correct?" the guidance counselor asked, shuffling through her papers pensively. When they all nodded, she gave a sigh of relief. "Well, that makes my job a lot easier. Let's see…Anshi, Hanyou, Higurashi, and Minamino. Here you go." She gave each of the teens their schedule.

Kagome peered apprehensively at her schedule. She didn't need to look at Inuyasha's; she'd ensured beforehand that their school days would be identical, just in case. However, she glanced over at the silent Shuichi. "Ano, Minamino-san, what room are you in?"

"Room 360," he replied.

Botan clapped her hands together. "Sugoi! So am I!"

Kagome's heart sank. She was in room 325. "Can't win 'em all," she sighed dejectedly to herself. Once again, she failed to notice Inuyasha's incessant twitching.

"Well, that wasn't so bad, now was it?" Kagome said to Inuyasha cheerfully.

He'd been remarkably well behaved during the school day, sitting silently in the back. There had only been one incident, which was with the history teacher, since they were learning about (ironically enough) the feudal era. Kagome had been very tempted to 'sit' him, but that probably would have just made matters worse. Fortunately, Inuyasha remembered his lack of claws halfway through the argument, so no blood was shed.

"Hah! Speak for yourself," Inuyasha snapped. "THIS is the pointless drivel you listen to every day? Why don't you just stay with us all the time and miss this crap instead!"

"I can't!" Kagome protested. "My grades-"

"Screw grades! They're just a bunch of numbers!"

"Yeah, a bunch of numbers that DECIDE MY FUTURE!"

"Your entire life is based on a few little scribbles on a piece of paper? Man, what is WRONG with you people?"

"Nothing that you'd understand," Kagome muttered. The two stood in stony silence the rest of the time they waited for Yusuke.

"Well, you two look like you had a WONDERFUL time at school today," Yusuke commented, walking up to the bickering pair. They both gave him a flat, evil glare. He put his hands up in defense. "Y'know, there IS a good reason I skip so often."

"You're still skipping!" Kagome yelled.

Yusuke moaned and covered his ears. "Not today, since I knew you'd throw a fit, but yeah, usually I skip once and a while. Well, actually a lot, but hey, who really needs school. And isn't that why you got kicked out your last one? Not intelligent enough my ass. You're smart, you just missed so many freaking days of school that you ended up failing."

"Don't compare me to you!" Kagome screamed. "I had a GOOD reason to be out of school so much!"

Yusuke arched an eyebrow. "And that reason would be…?"

Kagome bit her lip. She didn't know how to explain this one. "None of your business," she muttered.

Blatantly ignoring her cousin's smug grin, Kagome began stalking off in the direction of the Urameshi household just as Botan showed up. The blue-haired girl fell into step beside her.

"Something wrong, Kagome-chan?"

"Why do you care?" Kagome snapped. "You've only known me for a day."

"Yeah, but friends will be friends!"

Kagome blinked. "Well, you're awfully trusting now aren't you…?"

"That's me!" Botan giggled happily. "Now, what's your problem?"

Kagome sighed. "Evil psycho cousin of doom is at it again already."

Botan nodded in understanding. "That's Yusuke for you," she agreed. "Can't get along with anyone."

"How long have you known him for, anyway?" Kagome asked.

Botan shrugged. "Oh, only a few years' time. But we've been through a lot together."

Kagome's ears perked up at this statement. "You aren't trying to replace Keiko, now are you?" she asked suspiciously.

Botan's eyes widened in sheer horror. "Never! Yusuke and Keiko are MADE for each other! Any interference would be an absolute CRIME!"

Kagome sweatdropped heavily as the girl continued to rant on their way home. Inuyasha and Yusuke had long been forgotten and left behind. (Oh, that's just the kiss of death.)

"…And you wouldn't BELIEVE what lengths they'd go through for one another! I mean, look at that time with Suzaku-"

Kagome cocked her head to the side. "Suzaku?"

Botan immediately clamped her mouth shut. "Um…just an evil crime lord. Uh, you see, Yusuke did a few years of community service as a detective's assistant. That's where I met him, in fact. And…uh…yeah, that's it."

"Okay then," Kagome said slowly. She had a feeling that there was something the other girl wasn't telling her (especially since that story was full of more holes than Swiss cheese), but whatever it was, it was Botan's business, not hers.

"Anyway," Botan continued, obviously trying to change the subject. "Anyone special in your life? A crush, perhaps?"

Kagome opened her mouth to say that it was too early in their friendship to be gossiping about such things when a certain green-eyed redhead flashed into her mind. She blushed darkly. "Um…well…"

Botan grinned. "And the infamous Minamino Shuichi nabs another one!"

Kagome's blush deepened. She couldn't help it. After all, Shuichi DID seem like the ideal guy. Smart, drop-dead gorgeous, polite, compassionate, and most importantly of all… With a guy like Shuichi there wouldn't be any worrying about evil demons attacking her in the middle of the night. With a guy like Shuichi she could go to the movies and not have to worry about that little charm or baseball cap falling off and revealing his hanyou nature to the entire world. With a guy like Shuichi she'd never be known as 'that stupid girl' or 'shard detector'. With a guy like Shuichi she didn't have to worry about him loving someone who looked just like her…

Kagome snapped out of it. Okay, the stress of the feudal era was finally getting to her. Suddenly she realized what Botan had said.

"What do you mean, 'nabs another one'?"

Botan sighed. "You wouldn't believe how many girls were after him at his old school. It was at least half the populace! He's still unhappily single, though. Eh, oh well. Someone will net him someday, poor guy."

"He's…single?" Kagome repeated. So there was hope after all! Botan didn't really seem to like him that way, so the way was free for her! Of course, if he was STILL single, that must mean that he'd rejected every other girl up until now. Why should she be different? No! She must not think like that! She was special! She was unique! She was…your average dud. Kagome deflated her swelled ego. So much for that approach.

"You know," Botan cautioned, "it's not really a good idea to go after Mr. Unattainable. Isn't there anyone else you like?" She gave a sly feline smile. "That Inuyasha seemed pretty jealous at how much you were staring at Shuichi-kun." Kagome ceased for a moment in her obsessing as her heart gave a pang.

Inuyasha…the first love of her life and the most indescribable jerk she had ever met. But nevertheless…she still loved him. He was a creep at times, sure, and Kikyou seemed to be his number one priority, but he could be so sweet, so caring. He didn't even seem to realize how much compassion he really had. Or perhaps, she reflected, he simply didn't want anyone else to recognize his weakness. This thing with Shuichi was sudden and unexpected and so far merely physical. After all, she'd just met the guy this morning, and she'd barely talked to him at all. And she and Inuyasha had been through Hell and back together. She couldn't just forsake him like that. But still…Kikyou…

Botan winced guiltily at the other girl. "I'm sorry…did I bring up something painful?"

Kagome looked up and forced a smile. "It's nothing. Oh look, we're here!"

Botan looked startled as she turned and found she was facing the front door of Yusuke's house. She recovered herself quickly, though, and fiddled around with the key for a moment before pushing open the door. Kagome rolled her eyes and tried not to gag as the smell of old sake, despite the amount of cleaning done by Botan and the others the day before, inevitably wafted through the doorway.

"Oh, joy. Home sweet home."

* * *

Yusuke rolled his eyes. "'None of your business,'" he mimicked in a high, mocking falsetto. "Tch, she's my cousin, you'd think she'd tell me a little something for once."

"Stupid, lazy, self-absorbed bitch," Inuyasha mumbled mutinously beside him.

"If you're talking about Kagome, I agree wholeheartedly," Yusuke told the dour boy.

Inuyasha looked up at him with newfound respect. "How long have you known her, anyway?"

Yusuke snorted. "Are you JOKING? My entire freaking life! She's a control freak, she takes advantage of me, she guns down every idea that I've ever had, and she yells at me for being myself. I mean, why doesn't she just take a shotgun and shoot me herself, huh!"

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. "To think Kagome can be on par with Sesshoumaru…" he murmured thoughtfully.

"Sesshoumaru?"

"My brother," Inuyasha elaborated with a weary sigh. "Stuck-up jerk is out to kill me, I swear."

"Yeah, well, everyone thinks that about their siblings," Yusuke said wisely.

Inuyasha's eye twitched. "No, seriously. He's out to kill me."

Yusuke sweatdropped heavily. "Okay…" he said slowly. "You're not like, on meds or anything, are you?"

Inuyasha blinked. "Meds?" He noticed the way Yusuke was staring at him. "Are you suggesting that I have some kind of mental disorder!" he shouted angrily.

"Of course not!" Yusuke replied hastily, but he became a great deal more open toward the other boy after that little exchange.

…

"Kagi and me are like oil and water," Yusuke was saying. "You can shove us together as much as you want, but we're never going to mix." Both boys paused for a moment.

"Y'know, if taken out of context, that could actually sound kind of…"

"Wrong?" Yusuke supplied.

"Sick," Inuyasha agreed.

Yusuke leaned against the wall and sighed. "Kagome and Botan are waiting at home, so…let's not go there."

Inuyasha gave him a sidelong glance. "What are you suggesting?"

Yusuke grinned. "To the arcade!" he announced dramatically.

"The what?"

The gel-haired teen shook his head in sorrow. "Inu, Inu, Inu, you really ARE a sheltered freak, aren't you?"

"Temee--" Inuyasha began, but Yusuke was already dragging him away.

* * *

"NOOOOOOOOOOO! Kenshin-kun, watch out!" wailed both girls simultaneously.

Kagome hugged a pillow to her chest. "I can't take the suspense!"

Botan was staring, wide-eyed, at the screen. "C'mon, Himura! Use that Hiten mitsurugi-ryu!" she shouted. The pair gave a groan of disappointment as it cut to a commercial break.

Kagome stretched. "Where did Inuyasha and Yusuke-baka go? They've been gone for over an hour." Botan just shrugged, fiddling around with her hair.

"Hey, I'm gonna get a drink," Kagome announced. "Want one?"

Botan shook her head absently. "Nah, I'm good."

The black-haired teen headed toward the kitchen.

"Jeez, Yusuke, don't you ever throw anything out?" Kagome mumbled, rummaging around in the refrigerator. "Can't even find a simple soda in here." She finally found a grape one. "Well, that took an eternity."

She slammed the door shut. "AAAAAH! Where the hell did you come from!" she screamed, pointing a shaking finger at the boy in black. He was a little on the short side, with crimson eyes and spiky black hair with a white starburst. And he had mysteriously ended up in Yusuke's kitchen.

The boy just gave her an icy glare. They stood there for a full minute, one petrified and the other deadpan. Then he held out a folded square of paper.

"Give this to Botan," he said simply.

Kagome took the letter and stared at it. The front was blank. "Okay, but who exactly are you?" she asked, looking back up. The kitchen was empty. Kagome sweatdropped. "Okay…I'm officially creeped out." She went back out into the living room very quickly.

Botan looked up at her curiously. "Are you okay? I thought I heard you scream, but it's kind of hard to hear over the fighting in Rurouni Kenshin."

"It's back on! What did I miss!" Kagome exclaimed, then remembered the creepy kid in black. "Um…"

She held out the letter.

Botan stared. "What's this?"

"I dunno. I was in the kitchen and this really scary guy in a black cloak popped up from out of nowhere--"

"Oh, that's just Hiei," Botan interrupted. "Don't worry, he's always like that."

"Is he now?" Kagome said squeakily. Just what she needed. Sure, she left the creepy characters of the feudal era behind, but OF COURSE Yusuke had friends of his own that would make her feel right at home.

Botan unfolded the letter and read through it quickly, then stuffed it in her bag and went back to watching Kenshin. Kagome decided not to pry. Whatever Scary-Lurking-Guy had to say was his own business. Well, at least the stay wasn't going to be BORING. She just prayed that Yusuke didn't force Inuyasha into doing anything stupid, wherever they were.

* * *

"Oh, what do you do with a drunken sailor!" Yusuke and Inuyasha sang together, along with half the bar. However, they were the only two doing a staggering dance on the table. Everyone else was safely on the ground, clapping along to the beat. Yusuke and Inuyasha Do-Si-Do'ed before Inuyasha tripped over a conveniently placed bottle and vanished into the crowd. Yusuke just grinned sloppily. This was the best.

After Yusuke had gotten over the shock of Inuyasha's ignorance toward video games, the pair had headed to the arcade, where Yusuke had promptly fixed that problem. In fact, it was almost rather scary how quickly the older boy had gotten hooked. It had been surprisingly easy for Yusuke to get along with Inuyasha. In fact, he reminded him somehow of Hiei…only more temperamental and less withdrawn. Well, that and the fact that he wasn't quite as paranoid delusional and didn't carry around a katana to hack people into tiny bits with. And he wasn't a freaky half-and-half youkai. And the fact that Yusuke had never been able to drag Hiei out and get him dead wasted. But other than that…

A portly man with balding black hair and a toothless grin raised his glass. "Another round on the house!" he announced with a hefty slur. The bar echoed with happy and clearly drunk cheers.

* * *

Angry sparks danced around in Kagome's chocolate brown eyes. "DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU!" she screamed. Both Inuyasha and Yusuke cringed.

"Ow…" Yusuke moaned. "Kagome…hangover…pain…"

"GOOD! YOU KNOW WHAT? I HOPE YOUR BRAIN FRIGGIN' EXPLODES! CAUSE BOTAN AND I HAVE BEEN WORRIED TO DEATH ABOUT YOU!"

Botan's cerulean head popped up from the couch. "Oh. So you're back. Took you long enough," she yawned. "What is it, 11 at night?"

Kagome continued fuming. "Try 4 in the morning," she informed her cerulean-haired friend.

"WHAAA? YUSUKE, WHAT ARE YOU, NUTS!" Botan screeched.

"Make it stop," Inuyasha whimpered. Botan and Kagome exchanged a glance.

"You two get to fight over the couch tonight," Kagome announced, grabbing Botan's arm and dragging her into Yusuke's bedroom.

Inuyasha shot Yusuke a death glare. "Okay, so the bar fight was cool, but I'm still gonna kill you once my head stops feeling like it's being crushed by a rampaging oni."

"Suuuure, whatever," Yusuke muttered, dragging himself to the kitchen for a cup of coffee.

* * *

…

I promised myself I wouldn't do it, but I did. I fell victim to the vaguely crack cross-pairing that is Kurama/Kagome. Oh, the shame.

Okay, that's something of a lie. I actually began this a few years (yes, YEARS) ago, when the pairing didn't really exist. But still, it's the principle. Whatever. I'll stop ranting now. Uh, until next time…or something…geez, I never know how to end these things…


End file.
